Hit Chinese video streaming site Bilibili, once seen as a haven for subcultures like niche animation, has been making strides towards becoming a mainstream platform in recent years. But it is now facing a substantial backlash from some of its female users and brand partners, which accuse it of tolerating misogynistic content.Founded in 2009, Bilibili has evolved from an online hub for anime, comics, and games (ACG) content to a YouTube-esque service that also offers mobile games and live broadcasting. The company went from a little-known website to a platform dubbed “the nearest thing China has to YouTube.” The Nasdaq-listed platform had around 197 million monthly active users in the third quarter last year, an increase of more than 50% from 2019. Its revenue, around half of which comes from mobile gaming, also reached $475 million during the period.But with the expansion of the platform, its traditional focus on subcultures is causing trouble. The company has been under attack by feminists since it introduced popular Japanese cartoon Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasuor, or Jobless Reincarnation: I Will Seriously Try If I Go to Another World, to its platform in January. The cartoon is based on a novel by Japanese writer Rifujin…
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A popular Chinese video site is facing a commercial backlash over a Japanese cartoon
